Grab the frame buffer from an optical mouse with Arduino. Low blood sugar special, guest starring twin peaks theme and 1024x768 t-shirt. Code available at conorpeterson.w... View my other stuff: conorpeterson.w...
If only every video could be filmed this well. It'a almost always in focus, pointing at relevant components, WITH audible audio. Nice work. Even a soundtrack.
This is best edited hardware hack documentation video i have ever seen. Great work on that. I especially liked the romantic soldering scene. The hack itself is also pretty cool.
I think this can work as an optical flow sensor for arduino for example, which helps in stabilizing an object (e.g. hovering copter). It may serve the purpose of a motion sensor as well.
10 FPS is a hardware limit or a bottleneck caused by the Arduino/PC interface? I feel like my screen pointer tracks my hand movements much faster than at 10 Hz
I think this is because you read the memory of the chip, while normally the chip tells the microprocessor in the mouse the movements only... He is saying something like that, just before he explains the pins.
The Avago data sheet for that sensor chip says it operates at 1500 frames per second. It would operate at that rate in a mouse in which the sensor chip is translating images into motion. When you want to read the images off the chip you are constrained by the speed of the sensor chip's serial interface. Reading images that way is just for diagnostic purposes.
I thought something surreal was about to happen when the Twin Peaks soldering montage got going. I think it added something to the general quirky vibe of the editing and presentation.
You're pretty much right. One possible application I found was to use it for low-budget optical interferometry, that is, to detect minute vibrations or even temperature shifts by placing the sensor between interfering laser beams (or more like, a single laser beam interfering with itself). I had to pack up my things for an abrupt cross-country move before I could get it working reliably and never documented it, so if that's interesting to you, maybe it IS your turn.
Seems a perfect candidate for experiments with machine vision. Even sewing machines use this technology for speed control. Could be applied to woodcarving, automobile detailing, package printing, even robots.
Just because something has changed because of where it's used and by whom does not make it incorrect. In fact, there is no incorrect way of saying any word; only correct one(s), so long as they are understood.
That's a cool hack. I've been working on an embedded project that requires a colour digital camera, but upon trolling adafruit and sparkfun, there are currently no cheap camera modules (complete with frame grabbers) available for hobbyists - not that it's a hobby project, but the prototype for what I'm building has to start somewhere. I haven't considered looking into single chip colour cameras or image sensors. So, this really simplifies things :D.
if you could detect how much to the left or right someting moves you could use it to control a motor and find a specific position. that could be really useful
There's a USB serial driver that's part of the arduino software. Aside from that, all source code can be found at the link in the description. It's in java (for Processing) and straight C (for Arduino).
ok man , got the point here, but one little advice ... don't do that anymore ,,,striping wires with the teeth ,did the same as was younger and got teeth damage . Ok , so for the project itself, that sensor has to be put on a carriage with X /Y axes to get some usage , some like a scanner or slow scan fingerprint. I do electronics since i was 6 old , and glad to see that ppl are still homebrewing .
the tracking firmware in that mouse when refocused to infinity can give direct axis steering outputs to make a drone lock on and home in on a target...without an arduino. its a fun project to try. surprised more uses for these sensors are not posted.
I always used the same brand of wire strippers myself, until they flew out my mouth and hit the wall. Now I have proper wire strippers but you will never guess the brand when I tell you.
I think we could use it for some apparatus that does some scanning work. May be someone needs to make some small scale production line and check if products has been made correctly.
FIre Walk With Me is a great instrumental. Kinda funny you started soldering when it started playing, it reminded me of the opening to Twin Peaks where the machine is sharpening the saw blade! Great timing. Too bad that camera cant be used for distance.
To be honest, I don't know that much about developing for the ipod/ipad/iphone. But I would hazard a guess that it would be difficult to write drivers for your own custom hardware, just from what I've heard about app development for those platforms. Sorry if the video is getting anyone's hopes up, it was intended more as a dead-pan joke than anything else. :)
You are NOT, - "Done with this", - you didn't try any different "Lenses", for the mouse. You may find that you can get quite a clear image using a different lens, at different focal lengths, ... drill out the original lens and try others from different devices....... It's all learning with some fun thrown in, ... it only requires "a little effort", on your part...... . .
First of all, Conor looks more like Generation Z. Second of all, I really hope you have mistaken Millennials for Generation Z, otherwise your comment was silly. Third of all, us Millennials are the best generation ever!!1!1!
@Joe Duke Haha, they definitely are losers, your generation raped the future to have a better life. Now they are walking into world where they are are less well off than you. Congratulations, you let greed win, and the rest of us will end up paying. But it doesn't matter, you're obviously a nut job, just look at your uploaded videos. Somebody's got some issues...
Fun Hack! I always thought the mouse imager might be handy for a surface-visible auto-hover for tiny aircraft and little helicopters. On further investigation, turns out it's very true. I can remember having this thought the first time I saw a SUN Micro Sparc optical mouse, but at the time wasn't game to waste one to prove the point. Also insert any other "deflect-the-controls-in-proportion-to-the-image-changing" application here.
That is a cool project but if any of you want it for a rc car or anything like that you mite need something that has more fps to keep track of that your doing.
actually this is not useless at all. doesn't sounds like failure imho :D it's just the optics of the camera - the focus range is very short and they just meant to be like that (remember they're mouse). Good job on the video!
this is great project!! you can use it as optical ruler decoding camera but need to find a micro leaner encode tape of some sort since there is no cheaper microscopic camera anyway
@nws15 You may be able to write a driver for certain mice to dump the image, but I doubt it could be done with matlab. The optical data is buried pretty deeply in the mouse hardware.
+Matt J. It was most likely an acrylic lens, but there are tiny thick glass lenses that could be used. Also, you are correct that a second lens would increase focal length.
I can think of a good use for this, a weatherproof switch/direction control for a robot or outdoor interface in an RF intense environment. Of course finger skin doesn't work well with red so the LED would need to be changed. Impressive! What did you use to bring up the image? I'm a PIC head, so... Oh and if you want better music for you video (yank) I can score your stuff for free/fun/advice lol
Earlier that day I gave a presentation to a bunch of college faculty about how to format images for powerpoint. To help them remember I gave away freebies emblazoned with the most common projector resolution and then revealed my new mnemonic fashion line.
maybe you could use it to scan characters for an ocr thing that a blind person can use to read a book. ( partial blind - legally blind - elderly or someone that can see but not well enough to actually be able to read.)
I almost did this myself for a project where we had to sense the motion of a truck at slow speed along a road. We couldn't get the optics to work well enough. I still have the mouse. Actually I raided the IT junk box for dozens of 'em.
The main thing I intend to do is a panoramic image, ie capture all 40x40 pixels or whatever is the size in a straight line and then photoshop them together.
@iBlackwind Are you asking if it's possible to write a driver for the iPad that lets it pull data from an optical mouse camera? Good god, I have no idea. Doesn't the iPad already have a perfectly good camera (that actually focuses beyond 2mm?)
Please add captions (English and universal translation) Seems like a good video but I cannot hear. You moved your website, but did not update your links
Cool, seems like if you had a high speed adjustable DPI gaming mouse like a Razor or something you might actually have a pretty cool camera. I remember I used to have a dual sensor high dpi Logitech back in the day maybe I can find it...
Why are you stuck with the little plastic lens, which focuses at about 1mm (the distance of the surface it normally tracks)? Surely you could use some other lens, for example from a camera, that will focus an image onto the surface of the chip? It would be very interesting to see what it makes of an actual picture.
anyway, i think the resolution is too low. however, if try to look at it the backside of the mouse is already a perfect platform for infrared spectroscopy.. thanks
How about building an array of those sensors (each takes a frame of a portion of the surface you want to view), using a microcontroller to synch and combine the data from all and send it to your computer (via Arduino) for a bigger image? :)
Sorry for not being clear, I meant a driver for a camera module which is to be connected externally to the iPad. Currently the iPad does not have a camera:(
I should point out that you have shone that it can be done. And when I can get my dirty little hands on my own Arduino (I am wiring on the shipping) I have another project to play with, thanks.
hi i was thinking of a DIY project with the optical mouse. i was planning to use the camera of the optical mouse to take images of a finger placed on top of it and correlating the resulting spectral information to measure say, heartbeat or even blood sugar concentration through digital image processing. i think this is possible since the infrared light can penetrate the tissue thereby images captured can be used to determine the analyte of interest
That was very impressive and pretty cool thumbs up from me, might have a play with your code if its still out there! Thank you for this, it is incredably informative if you are into this stuff and if you are not!
@iRouRoui in the video I used a vise from home depot, but a popular tool used for this purpose is known as a "third hand" and is available at most hobbyist websites (sparkfun, jameco, etc.)
This is extremely interesting ... one practical application that EVERYONE needs is a mouse jiggler ... no more screen timeouts on machines that you don't have permissions to adjust that. And the mouse registers with the PC as a legit USB mouse. What could you send on those pins to the Logitech chip to emulate a jiggle?
